3 Skaneateles village races may go uncontested

Village elections are right around the corner and this year two trustees and the mayor are up for re-election.

Mayor Marty Hubbard and trustees Marc Angelillo and Mary Sennett will all seek re-election on March 19, said Village Clerk and Treasurer Patty Couch.

Though no other residents have expressed interest in contesting any of the positions, it is not too late, Couch said.

All an interested person needs to do to get on the ballot is get 50 signatures from registered voters in the village on a petition. The petitions are due to Couch between Feb. 5 and 12.

This will be the first year that the village will elect its officers to four-year terms.

Under the new village law Local Law 1 of 2012, the terms for trustees and mayor are now four years and elections will only be held every-other year. The terms used to be two years, but the start of the terms were staggered so there would be an election every year.

The two trustees that were elected last year, Jim Lanning and Sue Jones will serve three year terms so the end of their terms will line up with the new election schedule.

In its Jan. 24 meeting, the village acknowledged a letter from the Onondaga County Board of Elections requesting that villages move their elections to November to be on the same ballot as the town, county, state and national elections.

Though the move would save the village and county some money, the village has no plan to do this, Couch said.

By reforming village elections last year, the village has cut its election expenses in half already, she said. Plus, people might forget about the village elections if they were on the November ballot.

“I think keeping it in March keeps the focus on the village,” she said. “People wouldn’t pay any attention to the village races if we were a part of the main ballot.”

After elections, the village will hold its annual meeting on April 1 to take care of any appointments for village positions that need to be filled.

Joe Genco is the editor of the Skaneateles Press. He can be reached at editor@skaneatelespress.com.